A Beautifully Laminated Barong/Barung

[CharlesS]

This old Moro barong/barung is a recent purchase, and when it arrived it was a very nice surprise. I knew it was an old, perhaps 19th century, Tausug Moro or Samal Moro barong in a later, mid-20th-century, scabbard. What I did not anticipate was the outstanding quality of the beautifully laminated blade. The laminations are very precisely done and almost remind one of the rings in a tree trunk...I even wonder if that was the inspiration for this sort of pattern weld. This is one of the rarer forms of pattern welding on a Moro barong blade; I believe only a twistcore pattern weld on a barong is rarer.

Dimensions:
Overall: 26in./66cm.
Blade length: 17in./43cm.
Widest point of the blade: 2.75in./7cm.

[David]

Nothing but the best from you Charles. That is a freakin' beautiful barung! :)

[mariusgmioc]

Magnificent!

[CharlesS]

Thanks, guys...it was a very nice surprise!

[Edward C.]

That really is a nice piece of work!
And the weaving on the scabbard is beautiful too!

[Peter Andeweg]

Wonderful example Charles, well done!

[kronckew]

i'm in the wow camp too.

[Sajen]

Me too!:D The scabbard, also when more recent, is nice also and great to have it in undamaged condition. :)

[Battara]

Impressive.

[kino]

Handsome lamination, that scabbard is the icing on the cake.
One of my favorite Barung,s has a similar pattern.
Thanks for sharing

[CharlesS]

Again, thanks guys! It’s rapidly becoming one of my favorites!

[ariel]

Looks almost like Tibetan hairpin.

[CharlesS]

Looks almost like Tibetan hairpin.

It really does, Ariel, but this pattern doesn’t have the abrupt and well-defined “U-turn” that we would see on a more traditional “hairpin” pattern weld.

[Edward C.]

So how is a pattern like this made?